Houston Texans Schedule: Ranking Most Likely Wins, Most Likely Losses

McDonald: Ranking Texans Most Likely Wins in 2018

Every year around this time when our NFL overlords release the schedule for the upcoming season, we all race to break down each game like starved, drooling maniacs who haven't eaten for days and just had a juicy steak dropped on our plate.

If we all know this and we've become self-aware, then why do we continue to fall into the same trap every year?

The ridiculous practice of breaking down every game and predicting wins and losses for a season that won't start for nearly five months is part of what makes sports so enjoyable.

It's a meaningless, trite practice without the use of complete information—the draft isn't for another week and we won't know who makes the final 53 until the last day of August—with an outcome that's rarely accurate.

But it's fun.

Predicting wins and losses when the NFL schedule comes out is a perfect example of a topic that drives fun conversation while distracting us from the depressing real world.

Plus, I'm in the content business, so biting the content hand that feeds is a bad idea.

With my foot fully snared in the trap, here's my breakdown of the Houston Texans 2018 schedule, but let's approach this task in a slightly different way.

New ideas don't exist, but I'll attempt something slightly different by ranking the games on their schedule from the most likely wins, to the most likely losses.

From the biggest lock win of the season (No. 16), to the most obvious guaranteed loss (No. 1), here's how the Texans season will play out.

The Squash Matches, Texans Win by a Touchdown or More:

16. Giants (September 23, Week 3)

15. Bills (October 14, Week 6)

14. Colts (December 9, Week 14)

13. @ Jets (December 15, Week 15)

12. Browns (December 2, Week 13)

Not Complete Locks, but Texans Should Win:

11. Dolphins (October 25, Week 8)

10. Titans (November 26, Week 12)

9. @ Colts (September 30, Week 4)

50/50, Flip a Coin:

8. @ Redskins (November 18, Week 11)

7. @ Titans (September 16, Week 2)

6. @ Broncos (November 4, Week 9)

5. Cowboys (October 7, Week 5)

4. Jaguars (December 30, Week 17)

The timing of this game is everything. If the Jaguars need the game, I'd drop it into the next tier with the Patriots. If they don't, then it would move into the "likely win" tier.

Will be the Underdog, but They Have a Chance:

3. @ Patriots (September 9, Week 1)

The time to play the Patriots is early in the season. Over the last four years, the Patriots have an 11-5 record (.688) over their first four games of the season, compared to a 40-8 record (.833) during the rest of the regular season. New England has a great winning percentage in both portions of the seasons being compared, but it's clear they're more vulnerable early.